Paul Scoon

Bishop was in turn deposed by a counter-coup executed on Oct. 12, 1983, that was orchestrated by Bernard Coard, Bishop's erstwhile friend and governing partner. In the course of a continuing power struggle, Bishop and three of his closest ministers were executed on Oct. 19, 1983, by People's Revolutionary Army soldiers loyal to the Coard faction. A 16-member military council led by Hudson Austin then declared martial law and asserted iron-fisted control over the fractured nation. Scoon, acting through secret diplomatic channels, asked the United States and concerned Caribbean nations to intervene to restore peace and order to the island. The invasion coalition maintained that Scoon was within his rights to do so, acting under the reserve powers vested in the Crown. But an independent expert examination later found dubious constitutional basis for Scoon's call for foreign intervention and his assumption of executive and legislative power.[5] On 25 October, the invasion of Grenada (codenamed Operation Urgent Fury) was launched by a joint U.S.-Caribbean force to depose Austin's rule.[6]

When the invasion occurred, one of the first steps was to free Governor-General Scoon, a task assigned to United States Navy SEALs. A SEAL unit arrived by Blackhawk helicopter under fire and became trapped with Scoon at his official residence in the capital of St. George's. After a day-long encirclement, Scoon, his family and staff, and 22 SEALs were liberated by Marines from the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit. The U.S. and Caribbean governments quickly reaffirmed Scoon as The Queen's only legitimate representative in Grenada — and hence the only lawful authority on the island. On Oct. 27, the text of a letter from Scoon, dated October 24, was publicly released, in which he requested armed intervention. The letter was cited as evidence that the invasion was not a unilateral U.S. act, but a regional police action.[6] After the invasion, though, Scoon was anxious for U.S. forces to leave as soon as possible, stating a fortnight after the intervention that he "cannot see people from abroad coming in to change our minds or souls and [the] whole heart of a society" and that "it is important that within the shortest possible time that we should live and work in a situation where security support takes the form of a police operation that will increasingly come under the command of a Grenadian or West Indian commissioner of police."[7]

As per Commonwealth constitutional practice, Scoon became interim head of government and appointed an advisory council, which in turn named Nicholas Brathwaite as chairman and interim prime minister until post-invasion elections were held in 1984. Scoon retired from his post in 1992.